Perceptions of Competence, Strength, and Age Influence Voters to Select Leaders with Lower-Pitched Voices

Voters prefer leaders with lower-pitched voices because they are perceived as stronger, having greater physical prowess, more competent, and having greater integrity. An alternative hypothesis that has yet to be tested is that lower-pitched voices are perceived as older and thus wiser and more exper...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2015-08, Vol.10 (8), p.e0133779-e0133779
Main Authors: Klofstad, Casey A, Anderson, Rindy C, Nowicki, Stephen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age
Age Factors
Aged
Aging
Biology
Choice Behavior
Elections
Experiments
Female
Frequency
Humans
Hypotheses
Influence
Leadership
Life cycle analysis
Male
Mental Competency
Middle age
Middle Aged
Multivariate Analysis
Negative campaigning
Perception
Perceptions
Pitch Perception
Political advertising
Political behavior
Political leadership
Political science
Politics
Preferences
Public opinion surveys
Social psychology
Trust
Voice
Voter behavior
Voters
Women
Young Adult
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Summary:Voters prefer leaders with lower-pitched voices because they are perceived as stronger, having greater physical prowess, more competent, and having greater integrity. An alternative hypothesis that has yet to be tested is that lower-pitched voices are perceived as older and thus wiser and more experienced. Here the relationships between candidate voice pitch, candidate age, and electoral success are examined with two experiments. Study 1 tests whether voters discriminate on candidate age. The results show that male and female candidates in their 40s and 50s, the time in the lifecycle when voice pitch is at its lowest, are preferred over candidates in their 30s, 60s, and 70s. Study 2 shows that the preference for leaders with lower-pitched voices correlates with the perception that speakers with lower voices are stronger, more competent, and older, but the influence of perception of age on vote choice is the weakest of the three.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0133779